of the invaders, who pushed onwards by way of Ladder Hill towards
Fort James, into which the Governor and inhabitants had retired.
After long and tedious attacks upon this fort it yielded to the Dutch-
The Governor and English inhabitants, with their effects, made their
escape on board of ships then in the harbour to the coast of Brazil,
where, as good fortune would have it, they fell in with a British
squadron under the command of Captain, afterwards Sir, Bichard
Munden, proceeding outwards for convoy to the East India homeward
bound fleet. Captain Munden, on learning what had happened
at St. Helena, resolved to attempt its recapture, and immediately
with his ships made sail for the Island, arriving there on the 14th
May, 1673. Being unobserved, and quite unexpected by the Dutch,
early on the following morning he landed 200 men, under the command
of Captain Kedgwin, at a spot on the eastern coast, which
they called Prosperous Bay, and with them also a slave named
Oliver, who had lately fled from St. Helena with Governor Beale.
Their landing-place still retains the name of Kedgwin s Bock.
Oliver, the slave, being well acquainted with the Island, piloted this
little army inland up the steep and rugged cliffs until they reached
an almost insurmountable precipice, which seemed to check their
further progress, when one of the party named Tom, taking with him
a ball of twine, and encouraged by the repeated exhortations of Ins
companions, achieved the difficult and dangerous task of scaling it.
By means of his ball of twine, Tom was able to establish a rope communication
to assist his companions up the cliff, and in honour to
his exploit the place to this day retains the name of “ Holdfast Tom.
Captain Kedgwin and his' army, having safely ascended the precipice
were able to gain the heights of Longwood, and proceeding by
way of Huts Gate, where they obtained f o o d from some cottagers,
took up a position on the top of Kupert’s Hill, overlooking Jamestown
on its eastern side. During all this time Captain Munden,
with his squadron, was making his way to the northern side of the
Island, and appearing in front of Fort James just at the same time
as Captain Kedgwin’s army came up behind it, so astonished the
Dutch that they immediately surrendered. The English then
landed, and placing two guns in position on the hill to the eastward
of Fort James, as a precautionary measure, thus commenced the fortification
known to this day as Munden’s Battery. This repossession
by the English was accomplished in so short a space of time, and
there being no mail steamers or cablegrams in those days, intelligence
of it had not reached Holland before a governor had been sent
out to succeed the Dutch officer (supposed to be named Dyke) who
had been temporarily placed in charge of the Island. Captain
Munden had therefore the satisfaction of taking him prisoner on his
arrival at St. Helena, as well as making prizes of several richly-laden
Dutch ships, which, in total ignorance of what had taken place, put
into the roadstead on the homeward-bound voyage. He then left
the Island in charge of Captain Kedgwin. King Charles the Second
again granted, by Charter dated 16th December, 1673, the rights
and powers of sovereignty to the East India Company, as lords proprietors
of the Island,* who constituted a local government and raised
an European garrison for its defence. Captain Kedgwin was, by his own
wish, soon after succeeded by a new governor, Captain G. Field, and
there is reason to believe that his valuable services, as well as Slave
Oliver’s, were remembered by the East India Company. Governor
Field’s members of council were not appointed by competitive examination
; three of them being unable to sign their names, were well
satisfied to assent to the Board’s proceedings by affixing a hierogly-
phical mark instead; nevertheless they managed very well the affairs
of the country. Amongst other efforts to improve it they induced
Europeans to settle there, obliging each owner of ten acres to maintain
one European capable of bearing arms; landowners themselves
also being required to do so, and to join the militia corps whenever
danger threatened. They built batteries and mounted guns in
various parts, and were no less stric t. in their moral code of
laws than they were cruel in the punishments inflicted. Observance
of Sunday was most strictly enjoined by proclamation as
follows:—
“ The Lord’s Day be religiously observed through the said Island,
and all persons hereby enjoyned to abstaine from all Bodily labour,
unnecessary travell, or any secular employment (except workes of
necessity and charity), and noe person presume to spend any part of
that day in unlawfull sports, but all (who are able) are required to
resort every Lord’s day unto Publique place or places, where the
worshipp of Almighty God is celebrated, and there joyne together in
* A copy of this charter as well as a copy of that of 1661 is printed in Brooke’s Hist, of
St. Helena.